(in English only)
CLOSE & CLOSE: Homographs – not homophones…
Homographs are words with the same spelling but with different meanings AND pronunciation. This term has Greek roots: homo means the same, while graph means writing. Many of you probably learned read (present tense-bare infinitive) and read (past tense form) early on in your English way to success.
Close vs Close is less widely known.
Proximity – near – say it with an “ssssss” sound /kləʊs/
The zebras stay close [s] to each other as they drink brackish water from the river.
Examples of /kləʊs/
- Are you close to your dad? /s/
- My closest friends live close by. /s/
- That was a close call! /s/
- Don’t stand so close to me… (tralala) /s/
Say it with a “zzzzz” sound: /kləʊz/
When “close” means the opposite of “open”, as to open and close something, please pronounce the ending as a “z.” For example, a closed [z] door.
Examples of /kləʊz/
- I closed my emails. /z/
- The case has been closed. /z/
- The meeting drew to a close. /z/
- Many stores have closed down and gone out of business in the recent years. /z/
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